Note: The French language version of the news release follows the English text below.

New Year's Eve 2017 celebrations will take place at Nathan Phillips Square (100 Queen St. W.) on Saturday, December 31. This City of Toronto-produced event will also officially launch the year-long program TO Canada with Love celebrating Canada's 150th birthday.

The countdown to 2017 begins with a DJ Skating Party sponsored by Tim Hortons at 7 p.m. followed by live musical performances starting at 8 p.m. and fireworks at midnight. The full event program is available at http://www.toronto.ca/canada150.

Media logistics note: Media must arrange for artist and spokesperson interviews in advance through one of the two media contacts listed below. Members of the media are advised to arrive by 7:30 p.m. on Saturday to set up in the media area just north of the skating rink. An audio feed will be available. High resolution images are available for media use at http://ow.ly/Wi5M307nHKE.

The City of Toronto is committed to presenting an accessible event. An accessible viewing area and a sign-language interpreter will be provided onsite.

In addition to the regular all-night Blue Night Network service, the Toronto Transit Commission is extending its all-night subway service on all lines (Lines 1, 2, 3 and 4) to 4 a.m. on January 1. TTC service will be free from 7 p.m. on Saturday, December 31 to 7 a.m. on Sunday, January 1. More information about the holiday schedule is available at http://www.ttc.ca.

GO Transit will provide extended late-night service and offer free rides after 7 p.m. on the Lakeshore West, Lakeshore East, Milton, Kitchener, Richmond Hill and Stouffville lines. GO schedules are available at http:www.gotransit.com.

The following roads will be closed (or open only to local traffic) as of 5:30 p.m. on December 31:
• Queen Street West between University Avenue and Yonge Street
• Bay Street between Hagerman Street and Richmond Street West
• Hagerman Street between Elizabeth Street and Bay Street
• Elizabeth Street between Dundas Street West and Hagerman Street
• Albert Street between Bay Street and James Street
• James Street between Albert Street and Queen Street West
• York Street between Queen Street West and Richmond Street West

Social media updates on New Year's Eve and Canada 150 programming will be available on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/SpecialEventsTO, Twitter at @SpecialEventsTO, Instagram at @SpecialEventsTO and Snapchat at SpecialEventsTO. The event hashtag is #C150TO. A custom New Year's Eve Snapchat filter for Nathan Phillips Square will be available from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m.

New Year's Eve is presented by the City of Toronto in partnership with the Province of Ontario and the Government of Canada.

About TO Canada with Love
TO Canada with Love is the City of Toronto's year-long program of celebrations, commemorations and exhibitions honouring Canada's 150th birthday. The program is Toronto's cultural love letter to the country, offering a rich tapestry of more than 30 City-produced events taking place across the city throughout 2017. For more information, visit http://www.toronto.ca/canada150.

Toronto is Canada's largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world's most livable cities. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can visit http://www.toronto.ca, call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us @TorontoComms.